Anti-Crow hut 

7-8th August 2026

Despite the rainy and threatening forecast, six of us ventured up to have a mid-winter Christmas at the Anti-Crow hut.  Kevin and Keith had planned a more dramatic side trip going back going up Jordan stream and over to Bealey Spur but had decided to can it owing to the forecast heavy rain.  

We left town just after 8am in a bitter cold frost and arrived at the carpark just after 10am.  The weather looked misty and grey but wasn’t raining, which was a great bonus, so we all set off.  It’s a nice combination of bush walking and the wide expanse of river flats with some beautiful mosses, and of course matagouri. But I would recommend avoiding the last flood track right before the hut as it was fairly steep and unnecessary, except if there was a massive flood. I think I was last up the Anti-Crow in the early 1990s, and the Waimakariri River (from memory) has changed its course a bit and is now further away from the hut. 

The threatened rain arrived when we were about 30 or 40 minutes from the hut, so we arrived slightly damp but in good spirits. The hut has been refurbished or rebuilt and now has fresh lining, double glazing and a relatively full woodshed.  It was very comfortable. We all went out to forage to add to the wood supply for the fire as it was definitely chilly.  I really enjoyed the peace of the valley, as apart from the birds and the odd hare, we were the only people, so we were able to enjoy having the hut to ourselves.  I wandered off to walk to the Waimakariri River which is now almost a kilometre from the hut, thereby missing the exciting search and rescue of Kevin’s phone which had disappeared and was found about 20 minutes from the hut.

We had mulled wine which I brought but which Kevin nobly carried in, two plum puddings, brownies and cookies.  Really, we could have dispensed with our mains!  We had a very pleasant evening talking, looking at the various games that Graeme had brought but which we decided not to play. We decided that talking for one minute on ‘whether women were better than men’ or whether ‘men were better than women’ could be dangerous! 

We woke the next morning expecting heavy rain, but it didn’t arrive.  Kevin and Keith were kicking themselves as the sun came out, the tops cleared a bit, and it was even a little warm.  However, they did a brief reconnaissance and decided that it was definitely worth doing another time.  We got out before noon and headed back to town with a brief stop to have coffee and pies at Sheffield, and to distribute PTC pamphlets.

Rosemary Goodyear, Graeme Nicholas, Heather and Kevin Hughes, Chris Leaver, and Keith Hoard [RG]  

Photo’s by HH and KH